Mitt Romney on Monday attacked President Obama for an "abrupt withdrawal" of troops from Iraq, arguing in a major foreign policy address that U.S. gains in the country are being eroded.

Romney said progress made by U.S. troops is being lost by a weakening democracy in the country, a resurgent al Qaeda and the rising influence of Iran there since U.S. troops left last year.

"America’s ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence,” Romney said in his foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. “The president tried — and failed — to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains.”